8 Creative Ways to Dress Up Your Homemade Marshmallows

I recently rounded up some marshmallow tips for first-time mallowers, which I recommend reading if you're getting ready to make your first batch. These sweet bites are actually surprisingly easy to make, but I've learned a few things that you might find helpful.

I've gone a little mad for marshmallows in the past year and half. The phrase, "Hmm, what can I do to marshmallows this time?" goes through my brain a lot. A lot, a lot. I've definitely experienced my fair share of #marshmallowfails, but I've also discovered many ways to take your marshmallowing to the next delicious level. Simply use this homemade marshmallow recipe as a base, then try one the ideas below for your next marshmallowing adventure!

1. Dip Them in Chocolate All Fancy-Like

Simply dipping marshmallows in chocolate will probably always be my favorite way to eat these little bites of happy. It's a simple process, but there's lots of fancy-pants potential. For these Chocolate-Covered Geometric Marshmallows, I dipped the corners in chocolate so I could create fun arrangements, like this:

And this...

2. Dip Them in Chocolate Then Put Stuff On Top

There are so many ways to create souped up chocolate-covered mallows. Right after you dip them in chocolate, sprinkle them with toasted coconut, almond slices, crushed peanuts, and more. These Patriotic Chocolate Covered Marshmallows are among my favorites and look quite festive arranged in a flaggy kind of way.

3. Give them the Seattle Treatment

I.e., just add espresso! Having been a barista back in the day, I couldn't resist making some caffeinated mallows. Simply swap out the water in the marshmallow recipe for either 8 one-ounce espresso shots or one cup of quad-strength brewed coffee. And if you want extra barista points, top them with other ingredients to mimic your favorite coffee shop beverage

4. Substitute Fruit Juice for Water

I love adding natural flavor for a little something different. Just follow the above recipe directions as-is, but wherever it says water, use fresh juice instead (I've never used concentrate--my guess is that it would be too thick and make for not-very-fluffy mallows). I've used raspberry, blueberry, as well as citrus juice (pictured below), and all turned out great!

NOTE: If you want to amp up the color, add food coloring at the tail end of beating your batter. The juice provides great flavor, but the color fades quite a bit during the beating process.

5. Dust Them in Granulated Sugar

Rather than using the usual powdered sugar, I like to dust them in granulated sugar to give them a Peeps-like finish for Easter. It makes them a little sparkly and gives them a nice sugar crunch.

6. Double- or Triple-Decker Them

The sugared marshmallows pictured above are actually doubled up to make Raspberry Lemon Drop Mallows, and I've also done a triple-decker version to create some candy corn-inspired mallows. Simply make multiple batches of marshmallow batter, one after the other (not all at one time), and pour them on top of each other. Even though the batter you pour first will have start to set by the time you add other layers, they all fuse together just fine. (Candy corn mallows actually use four batches: yellow and white are single batches, and orange is a double batch.)

7. Create a Marbled Effect

You can do this with one batch by saving about a quarter of the white batter in the bowl after you pour most into your pan. Add food coloring to that last quarter and mix well. Pour colored batter into the white batter in a snake-like shape, then drag a knife through it in circular motions. Careful not to over "marble" or you can verge on simply mixing it in and losing the marbled effect. Check out this tutorial for these peppermint marshmallows I made for some visuals.

8. Really Put Your Heart Into Them

Perfect for Valentine's Day, or any day you want to share the marshmallow love, these heart details are created by dragging a toothpick through rows of red marshmallow batter dots. Check out this step-by-step tutorial to see how to do it.